Course Information

Course Description

This course in racial and ethnic relations discusses the push/pull factors that affect the nature of immigration in to America. It examines racial theories, patterns of assimilation, theories of prejudice and discrimination, and the impact of stereotyping. It concludes with a look at some of the racial and ethnic groups in America, with regard to their achievements in income, education, endogamy vs. exogamy patterns, and political participation. Some of the groups examined are: African Americans, Mexican Americans, Japanese Americans, Chinese Americans, Cuban Americans, and Jews.

Syllabus

Prerequisites and competency level required:

Eligibility for ENGL 800; READ 802 with a grade of C or higher for appropriate skill level indicated by the Reading Placement Test and other measures. Credit/No Credit, or letter grade option. Transferable to the CSU and the UC system.
In this class you're expected to:

Familiarize yourself with factors that impact assimilation into mainstream society.

Examine the definitions of race, ethnicity, minority groups etc.

Relate contemporary trends and attitudes towards immigration to historical events.

Make yourself cognizant of widespread stereotypes that exist in our society.

Learn to apply sociological concepts and theories to the "real" world.

Learn to analyze "real" world events using the tools provided during this course.

Hand in all work on time, or receive less or no credit.

Take all exams at scheduled exam time. Make up exams given only in emergency situations.

Attendance

Class attendance is the responsibility of every student. Attendance wil be taken every class session. In cases of complete attendance, three bonus points will be added to the score. Please make yourself familiar with the college policies on excessive absences. Students showing excessive absences may be automatically dropped.

Course Outline

We will follow the chapter topics in the text. Date for the final exam is provided in the class schedule. We cover chapters 1-6, plus several articles provided by the instructor, for the mid-term exam. Similarly, chapters 7-12, plus additional articles, will be the basis for questions on the final.

Materials

Text: Racial and Ethnic Groups in America by Gonzales, Juan J. Published by Kendall Hunt.

Study Guide (optional)

Writing paper

Guidelines

Guidelines For the Ethic Family Interview

This interview of an ethnic family, a group other than the one you belong to, should be about four( typed, double-spaced) pages long. You may write it in the first person, or use a question/ answer format. You are required to keep your dialog limited to members of one family. You may talk to as many members of the family you have access to. Here is a list of possible questions you can ask:

1. Brief history of the family in the country of their origin. When did they immigrate? Reasons for immigration? Which members of the family came first? Ages of children at time of immigration.

2. Economic, political, and social conditions in the country of origin.

3. Reception in the US. Perception of prejudice and discrimination. Examples of discrimination suffered, if any. Did different family members experience different phenomena?

4. Levels of economic well-being at the time of arrival. Has it improved or deteriorated? Level of education at the time of arrival.

5. The family's attitude towards patterns of ethnic relations in the US. Assimilation? Pluralism, or Melting Pot?

6. Attitude towards exogamy?

7. Attitude towards gender roles. Traditional, or egalitarian?

8. Any other questions that seem pertinent to you?

Note: Please maintain the confidentiality of your respondents.

Grading

There will be two exams for this course, a midterm and a final. Each exam will cover half of the lecture and reading material. There will be short-answer essay questions on these exams. These will comprise 75% of the grade. In addition, in-class group exercises will make up 12% of the grade. Thirdly, the students will be required to write a paper, which involves the interview of an ethnic family, due the week of final exams. An in-class presentation of this assignment will also be scheduled. A separate handout will outline the requirements of this assignment. The ethnic family interview is worth 10% of the grade. And the final 3% of the grade comes from an in-class news article presentation. This article has to relate to course content. Here is a distribution of points: